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The federal broadcast regulator says it is relaxing Canadian content requirements on traditional TV networks to put them on a more even footing with new media giants, including YouTube and Netflix.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission said on Thursday that it would scrape away “relics of the past,” such as requirements for genre protection, while allowing specialty channels more flexibility on the types of programming offered.

It cut CanCon quotas for daytime television programming by local TV stations to zero from 55 per cent and said it would not impose regulations on unlicensed on-demand digital content providers, largely American.

As well, industry sources say the CRTC may be readying a consumer-centric code of conduct to govern broadcasters, modelled on its recently enacted wireless code, which regulates such issues as contract terms and cancellation fees in the cellphone industry.

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The CRTC also gave domestic on-demand services CraveTV and Shomi the option of being exempted from the rules applied to conventional players if they make content available to all Canadians without requiring either an Internet or cable/satellite TV subscription.

The CRTC dismissed a complaint brought by two consumer advocacy groups against Bell Media’s CraveTV and the Rogers/Shaw Shomi venture that argued the services gave undue preference to their own subscribers.

And the regulator put on hold any move to impose regulations on unlicensed on-demand video providers — a so-called Netflix tax. The services will remain under a new media exemption and will not be required to pay tax on revenue earned in Canada.

“There’s still an uneven playing field,” said Mark Langton, a spokesman for Bell Media parent BCE Inc., noting the CRTC may revisit the issue.

The CRTC, in a backgrounder, said revising the definition of broadcasting revenues for licensees to include revenues from programming offered online or on other exempt platforms “could stifle innovation and inhibit the ability of licensees to offer new online-only programming, in competition with online video services.

“The commission is of the view that the industry should be given the opportunity to further develop these platforms without requiring contributions from these services at this time.”

Rogers applauded the rulings, while Bell said it was guardedly in favour, suggesting the new deal creates flexibility and will not necessarily lead to higher prices for Shomi and Crave TV, which must compete for eyeballs with such services as fast-growing Netflix.

“We suggested relaxing the Canadian content rules and the CRTC did just that,” said Patricia Trott, a spokeswoman for Toronto-based Rogers. “This is a win for all Canadians. We look forward to participating in the working groups and the outcomes of those discussions. “

The CRTC is calling for public comments about its decisions by April 27 and is expected to deliver another ruling late next week that could require broadcasters to offer more unbundled channel offerings, a move that could hurt small Canadian producers.

The CRTC’s decisions follow last fall’s Let’s Talk TV initiative, which gathered public feedback prior to regulatory moves aimed at dragging the TV model into the digital age.

Ian Morrison, a spokesman for non-profit watchdog group the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, said the CRTC decisions mean “there will be less Canada on TV sets. It will be more homogenous, less distinctive.”

He said CRTC chair Jean-Pierre Blais, in his speech in Ottawa announcing the changes, didn’t mention local TV stations that are struggling with new media competition and a fragmented advertising base.

The CRTC is taking its cue from the Prime Minister’s Office, he said, which has made it clear it would oppose any new regulations or taxation of the unregulated streaming service providers.

Morrison said protecting Canadian culture and content would require that offshore over-the-top providers who earn money in Canada make a proportional contribution to support Canadian programming.

Instead, he said, the CRTC has sacrificed non-mainstream viewing interests and is encouraging consumption of on-demand “essentially American programming.”

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